1. Field of the Invention
Generally speaking, the invention relates to the field of plant biology, and more particularly, to methods for reducing leaf senescence using methyl dihydrojasmonate.
2. Description of Related Art
The jasmonates are a family of compounds related to jasmonic acid, 2-(3-oxo-2-(pent-2-enyl)cyclopentyl)acetic acid, the structure of which is shown below in Formula (1):

Jasmonates have been implicated in regulating a number of events in plant growth and development, as well as numerous types of plant responses to stressors. Osmotic stress or desiccation, touch, elicitation, wounding and pathogen and insect attack are all generally accompanied by increases in endogenous levels of jasmonates. Jasmonates are also widely used as flavoring and fragrance compounds because of their strong odor and taste characteristics.
In a number of studies, jasmonates have also been shown to promote leaf senescence, the process by which plant leaves age and ultimately die. Specifically, an extensive body of literature indicates that application of jasmonates, such as jasmonic acid (JA) and methyl jasmonate (MJ), promotes or accelerates leaf senescence in intact as well as excised plant leaves in such diverse plants as corn, rice, wheat, oat, barley, arabidopsis, sunflower, and zucchini (see, e.g., He et al., Plant Physiology 128 (2002), pp. 876-884; Ueda and Kato, Plant Physiology 66 (1980), pp. 246-249; Chou and Kao, Plant Physiology 99 (1992), pp. 1693-1694).
Aside from the purely biological implications of leaf senescence, the chlorosis (i.e., yellowing) and necrosis (i.e., tissue death) of senescing plant leaves can have commercial and practical implications. Senescing leaves may reduce success of crop establishment, survival, and performance. Senescing leaves may also be unattractive, and may detract significantly from both the perceived health and the commercial value of a plant or a crop of plants. The problem may be particularly acute where plants or portions thereof are grown and harvested primarily for their aesthetic properties, as is the case with roses. Reducing the levels of senescing leaves may also substantially improve the value of crops grown for food, particularly where the leaves of the plant are the edible portion (e.g., spinach).